Detergent composition



Patented Sept. 22 l942 N DETERGENT COMPOSITION 1 Coleman R Caryl, Riverside, com, a sigiiorfto; American Cyanamid Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Maine No Drawing. Application June 19,1940,

v 7 Serial No. 341,306

3 Claims (Cl. 252138) This invention relates tc'a detergent suitable -for useins cake :form,-and more specifically to a detergent-that can be used in theform of a cake containing 'as its essential: detergent material a mixture of awater-soluble salt of di-(normal mal octyl), sulfosuccinic acid, when admixed with equal or greater'quantities of powdered boric acid, will form" a moldable detergent cake that has most of, the physlcalproperties'of ordinary octyllsulfosuccinate and boriciacid, with or with- \outmonoglycerol or monoglycol sulfosuccinates, water-soluble phosphates or other modifying constituents.

The esters of sulfosuccinic acid are known to,

possess detergent properties. U. S. Patent No. 2,028,091,. which covers these. compounds as new compositions or matter,,.describes alar'ge' number of .such testers including the esters}jof,, '2-ethyl hexylalcoholandof cap'ryl alcohol. LIIhese dioctylesters'and particularly the sodi um salt of the ,di 2,-,ethyl ljh exyl)v suliosuccinic- .acid are among t h'e most powerfulwetting agents known,

and I have prepared successful spray-drieddetergentpompositions containing them. However,-

5 they are not suitable forlthe'preparation of an hard soaps'such as Ivory soap. This compos'ition does' not soften and'disperse in water as do the other dioctyl sulfosuccinates', but the water dissolves only the outer layer and even this dissolution takes place very much more slowlythan. with ordinary soap. Cakes of my 1 new detergent composition therefore, possess a much longer effective life than does an ordinary I bar of soap of the same size, and possess a num- .ber'of advantages My new detergent compos itions maybe used either as toilet or laundry'soa'ps. They form a classfofldetergents having a mildly acidfreaction, as contrasted with the alkaline reaction of ordinary soapjandjyet. theyfifoamf freely and leave the skin in a soft condition. M'anypersons experiencefskin irritations from the alkali ordinary cake type .ofQdeterg'eht having the char- .acteristics of bar 'soap' asthey are 's'c' jft, gelatinous materialsf at ordinary temperatures..

. '.I have.' no'w discovered that acomposition hav- 2.5 Q ingexcellelnt detergent; and antiseptic proper- 'ties'can' be prepared in thesolidorcakejorm y from the di-(n'orm'al octyl) sul'fosuccin'ate by' admixing this material with boric acid, with or without the addition of alkali metal polyphosphates and other fillers, abrasives and the like. The di-(normal octyl) sulfosuccinate is not specifically described in the patent above referred to and, in fact, normal octyl alcohol was known only as a chemical curiosity when that patent was applied for. Recently, however, this alcohol has become available in commercial quantities, and I have found that the water-soluble salt of its di-ester with sulfosuccinic acid possesses unexpected properties for the preparation of detergent compositions in cake form, as will now be explained. I

As-is noted above, the water-soluble salts of the other dioctyl sulfosuccinates are soft, gelatinous compounds at atmospheric temperatures and they disperse completely and form a homogeneous gel when admixed with warm water. The corresponding esters of alcohols of lower molecular weight than octyl alcohol are even softer and more water-dispersible, while the esters of alcohols higher than octyl alcohol do not possess such good wetting properties. It is therefore a very surprising and unexpected discovery to find that the alkali metal salts, ammonium salt, and other water-soluble salts of di-(norof even the most. expensive toilet, soaps-and for such as these the present invention is especially recommended. Surgeons, doctors, dentists, and

others, who'must wash their: hands many times daily will also 'Ii'ndth presentinvention' or value,

as a continuing source] of ,skin' irritation is avoided. f

. The water-soluble. salts of di-(normaloctyl) suliosuccinic. acid are even ,better. detergents than are the corresponding compounds prepared from other octyl alcohols, and for this reason they may be used in relatively small amounts. Thus, for example, I have prepared detergent cakes containing from 5% to of sodium di- (normal octyl) sulfosuccinate and 95-85% of boric acid that have excellent detergent properties and a long effective life. Other cakes having equal detergencyand even better lathering properties have been prepared using the same amount of the sulfosuccinate but replacing about -30% of the boric acid by sodium or potassium tetraphosphate, tetrasodium or potassium pyrophosphate, sodium hexa metaphosphate and other alkali metal polyphosphates. A part of the boric acid may also be replaced by water-soluble or water-dispersible fillers such as "Cerelose (a com sugar), cane sugar, urea, glycerine, sodium sulfate, or water-soluble, neutral inorganic salts, waxes, fats, etc., or by a small amount of neutral soap such as sodium stearate or sodium oleate. Other fillers, antiseptics, germicides or addition agents such as phenol or cresol, sodium nucleinate and the like will also readily suggest may be used in any desired proportions, consists From the foregoing it will be seen that my invention in its broadest aspects comprises a detergent composition capable of being prepared and sold in cake form, which composition contains both a water-soluble di-(normal octyl) sulfosuccinic acid salt and boric acid, with or without the addition of other ingredients. Watersoluble salts of polyphosphoric acids maybe added in quantities up to about 20% inorder to in the water-soluble salts of the mono-esters of sulfosuccinic acid with gbcerol or ly ol est rs or ethers. These compounds are suli'osuccinic acid mono-esters of the formula Me0;S COOMa I n, -oooom(moo sr in which n is an integer not greater than 2, Me is a salt-forming radical selected from the group consisting of alkali metals, ammonium, and monovalent organic salt-forming radicals, and Y is a member of the group consisting of alkyl radicals of the type R.CH2 and monovalent aliphatic acyl radicals of the type B being an aliphatic radical containing 7 or more carbon atoms. Preferably the groups represented by Y are higher aliphatic hydrocarbon or fatty acid groups containing at least 8 carbon atoms, in order to give enhanced detergency to the composition. and the best results are obtained when Y contains from 12-18 carbon atoms. Representative compounds of this class are obtained by esterifying one mole of sulfosuccinic acid with one mole of monostearin, monoolein, or the monoesters of ethylene glycol or the mono-esters of glycerol with other fatty acids such as ricinoleic acid, caprylic acid, pelargonic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, or the mixture of higher fatty acids obtained by the hydrolysis of coconut oil. Similar compositions of the ether type are obtained by esterifylng with sulfosuccinic acid the mono-ether of ethylene glycol with 2- ethyl hexyl alcohol, capryl alcohol, decyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, octadecyl alcohol and the like or the corresponding mono-ethers of glycerol.

increase the lathering and detergent properties and mono-esters of sulfosuccinic acid salts with higher alhl esters or ethers of polyhydric alcohols may be added in any suitable quantities. The composition may also contain flllers,'antiseptics and other minor ingreidents such as those noted above.

What I claim is:

1. A detergent composition in solid cake form comprising a water-soluble salt of di-(normal octyl) sulfosuccinate and boric acid in the ratio of 5 to 15% by weight of the former to 95 to by weight of the latter.

2. A detergent composition in solid cake form comprising from 5 to 15% by weight of a watersoluble salt of di-(normal octyl) sulfosuccinate, boric acid in amounts at least equal to the amount of said salt of di-(normal octyl) sulfosuccinate, and a suli'osuccinate of the formula H MeOgS .C.COOM0 H;O.C 00CHI(HIC O)..Y

in which n is an integer not greater than 2, Me is a salt-forming radical selectedfrom the group consisting of alkali metals, ammonium, and monovalent organic salt-forming radicals, and

Y is a member of the group consisting of alkyl COLEMAN R. CARYL. 

